Brooke (Orphans 3)

out is his own sexual gratification, you'll feel used. I'm nobody's possession. I'm nobody's toy," she declared hotly as if someone had just accused her of being so. Whenever anger flashed across her face, her nostrils widened and her eyes looked as if tiny candle flames were burning behind them.

She paused and looked at me hard again. "How much do you know about sex? I know you're a virgin. You told me so, and I believe you. I hope we'll never lie to each other," she added firmly. "How close have you come? Did you have one steady boyfriend?" She fired her questions in shotgun fashion.

"I've never had a boyfriend," I said.

Disbelief filled her face. "From what I saw, the living quarters were quite close. Boys and girls shared so much, and there wasn't all that much supervision, was there? I mean, there must have been plenty of opportunities for hanky-panky. You can be honest with me, Brooke. I'm your mother now, or your mentor, I mean," she quickly corrected.

"I never had a boyfriend. Really," I said.

"But you know things, don't you?" she asked, nodding. "You know what they want, what they always want, no matter how they present themselves or what they promise. Men see you as one thing and one thing only, whether you're a prom queen or a member of the Supreme Court, Brooke, and you know what that is?"

I shook my head.

"A vessel of pleasure into which they can dip." She returned to her makeup. "Satisfying their little telescopes," she muttered.

"Their what?"

She laughed. "Telescopes." She looked at me. "Don't tell me you've never seen one of those."

"I've seen them," I said, recalling different occasions when I had caught sight of one of the boys in the bathroom.

"So you know they come out like a telescope when they are aroused. At least, that's how I always think of them," she said, laughing. "Oh"--she squealed with delight--"isn't it going to be fun for me to experience everything again through you? That," she said, growing serious, "is why it's so important you do everything I tell you and benefit from my knowledge, especially when it comes to men. What else is more important, anyway?" She shrugged. She gazed at her large, rich surroundings. "After all, my knowledge got all this.

"And," she added, turning back to me, this time with her eyes so intense she scared me, "with my help, you will get everything, too."

Peter was sitting quietly in the dining room, waiting for us. The moment we came through the door, he rose, his face lighting up with happiness.

"You can do wonders, Pamela," he declared. "Look at her. She really is a younger version of you."

Pamela's look of satisfaction grew icy instantly. "Not so much younger, Peter," she admonished.

"No, no, of course not. It's just that she came into the house a little girl, and you've turned her into a young lady in a matter of hours," he quickly explained. He hurried to pull the chair out for her, and she sat. Then he did the same for me. I sat across from Pamela on Peter's left, and she sat on his right. There was still so much table left, I felt silly.

"I have a lot to teach her," Pamela explained.

"I told her so, and I told her there was no better woman for the job, didn't I?" he asked me. I nodded.

Pamela seemed placated. She relaxed and smiled. Seemingly out of the walls, music flowed, soft, pleasant sounds. Sacket came in with a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice and set it down beside Peter.

"Have you ever had champagne before, Brooke?" Peter asked me.

"No," I said. "I had a sip of beer once."

He laughed.

Pamela made a small smile with her lips. She looked as if she could orchestrate every tiny movement in her face, every feature to move independently of the others.

Peter nodded at Sacket, and he poured just as much in my glass as he did in Peter's and Pamela's. Then he placed it back in the bucket and left. Peter raised his glass slowly.

"Shall we make a toast, Pamela?"

"Yes," she said.

"To our new daughter, our new family, and the beautiful women in my life," he added.

We all touched our glasses. I had seen this only in the movies, so I was very excited. I sipped my champagne a little too fast and started to cough.

"You took in too much," Pamela said. "Just let your lips touch the liquid, and permit only the tiniest amounts into your mouth. Everything you do from now on must be feminine, and to be feminine you need to be dainty, graceful."